An actor with a taste for extremes, James Spader has forged a career built upon exploring the darker side of human nature. After starting out in such films as Endless Love opposite Brooke Shields, and John Hughes' Pretty in Pink, Spader hit his stride in 1989 when he won the award for Best Actor at that year's Cannes Film Festival for his role in Steven Soderburgh's Sex, Lies & Videotape. His reputation cemented, the 1990's saw him taking lead roles in such fare as Luis Mandoki's White Palace opposite Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts, Nicholas Kazan's Dream Lover, the box-office hit Stargate with Kurt Russell, Sidney Lumet's Critical Care and David Cronenberg's Crash, which caused a sensation for its portrayal of the raw sexuality of car-crash victims.

More recently, Spader was seen starring opposite Keanu Reeves in the box-office success The Watcher; Slow Burn with Minnie Driver, Josh Brolin and Stuart Wilson; and as a co-pilot in deep outer space in Walter Hill's Supernova with Angela Bassett, Robert Forster and Robin Tunney.

Spader's diverse body of work also includes John Herzfeld's 2 Days in the Valley, Mike Nichols' Wolf with Jack Nicholson, The Music of Chance with Mandy Patinkin, True Colors, Bad Influence, Jack's Back, Mannequin, Less Than Zero, and Oliver Stone's Wall Street. He recently completed filming Rowdy Herrington's The Stick-Up opposite Leslie Stefanson. Most recently, Spader starred in Speaking of Sex, a comedy directed by John McNaughton co-starring Bill Murray, Jay Mohr and Lara Flynn Boyle.